Masquarade madness
by sarahbelikovcullen
Summary: Fun and Hilarity ensues at the Cullen masquarade ball where Bella encounters a mystirious masked figure


**_**Hello all and welcome to my two shot. I hope that you enjoy and that it makes you laugh as much as it did me and I wrote it lol.**_**

**_**Disclaimer. I do not own twilight or its respective characters they are the property of Stephanie Meyer however I do own this plot line and ask that it not be copied without my permission.**_**

**_**ENJOY**_**

"Oh you have to be kidding me Alice Cullen!"

"Oh come on Bella, please it'll be fun and you know it. Rose, Emmett and Jazz will be there."

"And what about Edward, will he be going or is it a little bit too frivolous for the resident geek?"

Alice laughed at my sarcasm towards her brother, I was fully aware that I shouldn't talk about him like that but the guy really did get on my tits! He was a year older than Alice and I, which made him twenty-one and the bloke was just so damn weird and creepy. He sulked around the Cullen house like the fucking grim reaper, with his tall frame shrouded in black and his long unruly bronze colored hair hiding most of his face. Glasses that were as thick as jam jar bottoms hid his eyes.

"Nah I don't think that he'll be there. He'll be too busy with Tyler nerding it upstairs to be interested in what's happening down here. I'll have to tell him that I'm having it though or he'll just complain to mom and dad and they warned me last time about it. Anyway can you really imagine Edward at a masquerade ball?"

I laughed aloud as I tried to conjure the image in my head. I could just see him stood in the corner watching everyone with an intensity that could really freak you out if you took it too seriously.

"A masquerade ball though Ali, what the hell is the appeal of it?"

"Why the hell not? We've had Halloween parties, we've had slumber parties and we've had prom. We only graduate once and I wanted to do something different this year compared to what Edward and Emmett had, that and I watched The Phantom of the Opera the other week and I decided that I wanted to have an excuse to dress up in one of those big poncy dresses."

"Oh man, this means that I have to wear a dress."

"Oh yes and heels and a masque."

"For fucks sake Alice! Are you trying to make sure that I break my leg? Making me wear a dress is bad enough but coupled with heels and a masque and I'm a guaranteed walking, talking accident."

Alice giggled loudly. "No you're not Bella, I'm not asking you to wear stilts I just want to make you look stunning. Hey this may be the perfect chance for you to get James to finally take notice of you."

"Yeah but knowing my luck James won't look twice at me and I'll end up with Mike Fucking Newton following me around like a flaming lap dog!"

"No you won't Bella. I'll have you looking so stunning that you will be surrounded by so many people that he won't be able to get within ten feet of you I promise."

"You better make sure you little elf." I laughingly said as I pulled on a strand of her spiky black hair.

"Who do you think you are calling a pissing elf? Do I look as though I have small pointy ears and little sharp teeth?"

"Not yet but you will do if that fucker comes anywhere near me!"

"Come on let's go and get Rose away from Emmett. I want to go shopping." I groaned, I hated shopping with a passion but being dragged along with Rose and Alice to shop for a ball gown was the worse than any kind of torture.

We made our way upstairs and the further up we got the louder and louder our conversation got. By the time we had reached Emmett's room we were making enough noise to wake the dead, we had to as I really didn't want to walk in on Rose and Emmett fucking again, I had done it once before and it took me almost two years to bleach the image from my brain.

"Rosalie Hale!" Alice shouted, I had to admit that for someone so small she really did have a big mouth. "Get your butt out of there and away from that idiot of brother of mine, it's time to go shopping."

The door opened and Rose wandered out looking as though she had just stepped off the catwalk fresh from a French fashion show. As much as I envied Rose her looks I had never been jealous of the stunning blonde bombshell that had become one of my best friends. As she walked out of the room we could hear Emmett grumbling in the background about her leaving him and I burst into gales of laughter as she shouted.

"Oh stop your bloody moaning you great oaf! You're starting to sound like more of a woman than I am; in fact I think it may be time to ask your dad about having your balls removed!"

We made our way down stairs, laughing at the way that Emmett had immediately shut up at Roses words. I loved the elaborate staircase that we had to walk down but it hated me, thankfully Rose was there to catch me as I tripped and almost fell all the way to the bottom. Waltzing through the large kitchen we passed Edward and I could feel his eyes boring into my back like laser beams.

Alice had already brought her banana yellow Porsche out of the garage and it was waiting for us outside the kitchen door. I was relegated to the back seat as normal due to the fact that my legs were shorter than Roses, a thing that I was grateful for as at least that way I wasn't aware of how fast Alice was actually driving.

We reached Seattle in less than an hour, how the hell Alice managed to it without getting any kind of speeding ticket I will never know. It always amazed me that she had avoided wrapping any of her cars around a tree like a pretzel with the speed at which she drove.

Alice's intuitive nature when it came to clothes had always had the capacity to blow me away and it was thanks to her that since my move to Forks I was no longer dressed like a total dork, although if it was up to Alice I would never wear an outfit for the second time and everything I owned would be a designer brand. She hated that I had kept some of my older more comfortable clothes that I had brought with me when I moved back from Phoenix.

She led us down a small cobbled street that looked as though it belonged in the pages of a Charles Dickens novel than in the middle of Seattle in the twenty first century. It was easy to tell when we were getting close to the shop that Alice wanted as she began to bounce. Yes I said bounce; honestly this girl was worse than tigger on speed at the best of times and was unbearable when she got over excited I got exhausted just watching her.

"We're here!" Alice exclaimed rocking up and down on the balls of her feet.

"Rose, please tell me that they also sell Valium in here." I begged Rose.

"Nope, I'm afraid not." Rose replied with a very girlish giggle. "They do however supply her with alcohol whilst she's there."

NO! NO! NO! Of for fucks sake please tell me you are kidding me Rose. A sober Alice is excitable enough but a drunk Alice can get giddy at a hair tie how the hell will I cope when she's surrounded by clothes?"

"Excuse me, I am still here you know!" Alice tried to look at us indignant but failed miserably which made me laugh out loud at her.

"Come on then munchkin let's get the torture over with so we can go and eat. I haven't been to Twilight in ages and am looking forward to it."

"I'll give you bloody torture." I heard her mutter under her breath as we entered a small wooden door into a small, plush foyer. To say that the foyer itself was opulent wouldn't have been giving it enough credit, the tall walls were painted a deep crimson red and a thick black carpet covered the floor and masked the sounds of our footsteps. Three large luxuriant chairs were grouped around a small table that held three champagne glasses and an iced bottle of Krug, it was obvious that we were expected and that Alice was well known to them.

Just as we had each poured a glass of the ice cold bubbly a door opened and admitted a tall, stunning redhead with tight curls that reached all the way down to her ass. I loved red hair and was instantly envious of her until she opened her mouth and squealed. She greeted Alice in a high girlish voice and bounced over to her. I looked on in horror; one Alice was bad enough to deal with but being faced with someone of a similar hyperactive personality made me want to run screaming for the hills.

"Alice! Oh My God it feels like it's been forever since I last saw you. How are you doing? Are you still with Jasper? How is your family doing now especially that gorgeous piece of man meat Emmett?"

"Tori? I haven't seen you in so long I didn't realize that you were working here now. Yes I'm still with Jasper we've been together for three years now. Mum, dad and Edward are doing okay; they haven't changed much I have to admit. Emmett is doing really well and has finally seen the light and got himself a gorgeous girlfriend."

Rose stiffened when Tori mentioned Emmett and I watched as she concentrated on relaxing her posture instead of going over and ripping Tori's head clean off for even having the nerve to look at Emmett.

"Tori, can I introduce you to my two best friends in the entire universe, Bella and Rosalie. Rose is also Emmett's gorgeous girlfriend. Girls can I introduce Tori Garrett. Tori and I knew each other when we were in kindergarten and lost touch until five years ago when I ran into her again."

Tori turned to us and smiled and although Alice had known her far longer than she had me and Rose I couldn't help but dislike her. Her cold blue eyes were as hard as ice as they swept over us and I could see that she was insanely jealous of the relationship that the three of us had.

"Alice has told me that you want to look at the masquerade gowns we have. Do either of you have any idea of what style or color you are wanting?"

I shook my head in answer to her question, I really hadn't been given enough time to even process the fact that she was making me wear a dress and heels never mind think about what color or style I wanted. I was clueless when it came to shopping and styles and knew I would need all the help and guidance I could get.

"Come on, I want to go and look at some dresses." Alice all but shouted. Her small body was all but vibrating with excitement. I groaned in dismay as I suddenly realized that this wasn't going to be the short shopping trip that I hoped.

Tori led us through the day from which she had emerged; Alice went skipping in front followed by an equally eager Rose while I very reluctantly brought up the rear. I heard Rose moan and my mouth fell open in shock as we took in the sight before us. I hadn't known what to expect but I can say hand on heart that it was nothing like what was before me now.

We had entered a beautifully decorated wonderland, all the internal walls had been knocked down to produce a huge double storied cavernous room, the walls had been painted a deep forest green and the lighting kept subtle and soft which made it feel very intimate instead of impersonal like many of the other boutiques that we had gone to before had felt.

Alice squealed as she took in the amount of dresses and outfits that adorned the four walls, they were arranged on three long racks that spanned the length of each wall and were separated by a full length mirror surrounded by small spotlights. They reminded me greatly of the mirrors that you would see actors and actresses perfecting their make-up before they went on stage. There was another table set in the middle of the room surrounded by the same chairs that had been in the foyer and Alice set down the ice bucket that contained the champagne and then turned round to face us a huge smile splitting her face in two.

"Let the fun begin!"

We each took a wall where there was a multitude of different colors and styles. I could hear Alice muttering to herself and managed not to laugh out loud. I should have been used to the squirt talking to herself whilst shopping but it still had the ability to make me giggle like mad.

I decided that I had better concentrate at the task in hand instead of just standing here laughing at Alice before the little squirt took it upon herself to decide what I was wearing without absolutely no input from me what so ever. Looking at the row of clothes in front of me I began to feel a little intimidated and overwhelmed by the amount of choice there was. I mean come on; I had enough difficulty in deciding which one of the two pairs of jeans that I owned should I wear.

Right Bella think! I thought to myself, I knew that it made more sense for me to decide on what color I liked first before I thought about a style and then look at the gowns that were within my color choices. Thankfully the racks were set out in color order ranging from the palest of pinks right through to the richest of blacks and every conceivable color in between. The colors caught my eye which was unusual as I normally shied away from anything other than my normal browns, reds and black.

I chose to look at the deep purple dresses first and found one that was reminiscent of the old European can can girls outfits as they danced in placed such as Paris and London , with a boned corset and satin skirt with miles of netting underneath it was the polar opposite of anything that I had ever looked at before. I pulled it out and placed it on the stool that was near to me and moved on to find another.

I picked up a midnight blue dress that had been designed to look as though it haled from England at the turn of the Twentieth century complete with a bustle, long frilly sleeves and floor length skirt. I knew that Alice would approve of this as she was always trying to persuade me that blue was a color that I should wear.

I fell instantly in love a French renaissance style dress, the kind that you would have expected to see Mariantionette would have worn. The color was a deep teal green, a color that I had normally avoided due to the red hue in my hair. The skirt was floor length and shot through with gold, a pattern that carried on up through the corseted green body with its square neckline and sheer teal and gold sleeves. I hoped that Rose and Alice would agree with me on this as even though I was an adult I wasn't willing to risk my life by disagreeing with the mini tornado that was Alice when shopping.

"Okay girls it's time to show us what you've got." Tori shouted sounding as excited as Alice. "Hang your chosen gowns up on the racks that I've put near the table and I'll go and get the shoes and masques that go with each one."

I gathered up the three gowns that I had actually liked and turned around. I groaned when I realized that I couldn't see anything of Alice or Rose just two piles of walking dresses. Fuck this was going to be a long day and my stomach was beginning to complain at me regarding the lack of food that was in it.

"Oh come on Bella, smile. This is going to be fun fun fun!"

"Rose? Just how much champagne has Alice had?"

Rose looked at me, her cheeks flushed guiltily and when she opened her mouth to speak no words came out. She stood opening and closing her mouth like a fish and I could see that she was trying to work out if it was worth lying to me or to just blurt out the truth.

"Rosalie Hale, don't even think about telling me bullshit or I may just have to ask Carlisle not only to have Emmett's balls cut off but to also cut off your clit and have it made into a necklace for me."

Rose stopped flapping her mouth around like a fish and stood there with a shocked look on her face, I could hear Alice and Tori laughing like hyenas as they took in her expression.

"Shit Bella you really do not play fair at all."

"Never mind playing fair Rose, if their laughter gets and higher or louder they're going to shatter the mirrors and the fucking champagne bottle."

"Well, I may have seen her drink another few glasses while she was looking."

"I couldn't help but start to laugh at Roses confession and the fact that we were now going to be subjected to a drunken Alice. We were always guaranteed that laughter would be high when Alice and alcohol mixed as her verbal filter just disappeared and whatever was in her mind just fell out of her mouth even if it meant no sense.

"Bella" Alice sang out. "It's time to get your tits out and show us what you've got."

Oh My Fucking Christ! Now I knew that Alice was pissed and it seemed to me that I was on the receiving end of her drunken ramblings this time. I just hoped that we would be able to sober her up before we had to go home or Jasper would strangle me and Rose.

Rose stood behind Alice and I could hear her laughing loudly. Now laughing at Alice when she was drunk was a fatal mistake and Rose really should have known better by now. I had to giggle when Alice spun around and snarled "And who the fuck do you think you're laughing at Rosalie Hale? You think it's funny that Bella has to show her tits off? Well guess what Blondie so do you, so start fucking stripping!"

Rose and I rolled our eyes but complied with Alice's instructions knowing that we faced a fate worse than death if we ignored her commands. I had always been self-conscious of my body and hated stripping in front of others, I had no real curves to show off but when I stood next to Rose I managed to look like a boy. She had curves to die for, huge tits that still pointed north, a tiny waist and hips that flared and curved in all the right places.

I caught sight of the three of us in the mirror once we had all shed our clothes and couldn't help but snigger, when we were stood next to each other we looked like the three different stages of puberty. Alice was tiny and I mean petit in the extreme, she was barely five foot tall and had an incredibly boyish figure with only a slight flare to her hips and tits that most teenage girls would be able to beat. I didn't fare that much better though, I stood at five feet four and had what you would call regular tits but there was a slightly more womanly curve to my waist and hips. Rose on the other hand was the total opposite of Alice, standing at an amazing five foot ten Rose had the classic hour glass figure that guys went mad for. Thankfully Rose was so much in love with Emmett that she never even noticed the admiring looks that she received. It could have been so easy for people to her based on her looks alone but she was too grounded for that to happen and people were drawn to her like a moth to a flame.

"Bella I don't know about you but I think it might be a better idea if we get Alice sorted out with what to wear first before she falls over pissed."

I chuckled at the fact that Rose had followed the same train of thought process that was going through my mind and I nodded in agreement, all of a sudden we heard a small crash and Alice cursing loudly, my chuckle turned into a full on belly laugh as I looked around and saw just a pile of gowns on the floor with Alice's tiny feet sticking out from underneath it.

Still laughing Rose and I went to help Alice back to her feet. "Come on Ali cat, let's get you stood up and trying these gowns while you can still stand."

Alice staggered to her feet and tried and failed to glare at Rose who was still giggling away to herself.

"Isabella Marie Swan are you trying to say that I'm drunk?"

"Alice, there is no trying to say it at all it's as obvious as the nose on Edwards face."

Alice went to open her mouth to deny that she was more than drunk but a hiccup interrupted her which once again set me off laughing as it really did prove my point.

"Oh shut up." She muttered to herself causing the grin on Roses face stretch so that it was now ear to ear. "Let me show you bitches how not to dress."

Rose and I took one of Alice's hands in ours and led her to the rail where Tori was flitting around like a butterfly hanging up the gowns that Alice had dropped and gathering together the matching shoes, masques and hair pieces.

Looking at the rail we groaned as it looked as though she had decided to choose a gown from every color under the sun. As I stood there, my eyes roaming over what she had chosen I knew that there was no way that Alice was in anyway capable of trying on each of the gowns.

"Rose, Tori, Alice. Just come here for a second please."

They each came and stood by me looking at me quizzically. Well I say stood but Alice swayed gently, giggling at nothing in particular.

"As we can all see Ali isn't going to be capable of standing up long enough to try on all the gowns that she has chosen so what I propose is that we each chose one gown for her to model before we fill her with food and coffee."

Alice tried to glare at me but with her eyes unable to fully focus it didn't have the effect that she wanted. I heard a muttered "Oh fuck off" as she gingerly walked passed me to pick her choice. Having picked out a grape colored renaissance style dress she collapsed into a waiting chair struggling to keep her eyes open as she waited for us to look through what she had brought over and make our choices for her.

Rose chose a shimmering silver gown that flowed like water over her fingers. The dress was beautiful and slinky and would suit Alice's sparkling personality perfectly. Tori chose a baby pink corseted gown that in my opinion would make Alice's pale complexion look washed out, I chose another corseted gown in the same grape color, it had a square neckline and a long slim raw silk skirt that was shot through with black and gold that was carried on in the masque that accompanied it.

We force fed Alice black coffee in the hopes of sobering her up enough to stand and try the gowns on. Rose dismissed Tori's choice before Alice even began to try and put it on saying that it would make her look like a walking corpse.

We had just begun to lift the shimmering material silk of the dress over her head when we heard Alice mumble "I'm hungry now. Tori, would you ask the Twilight restaurant if they would be willing to deliver me some food here? If you tell them it's for me they should do, they know me well enough by now."

Tori nodded and as she went to go and place our order with the most affluent place in Seattle we managed to get the dress over Alice's head. The silver gown fell like a silken waterfall over Alice's small frame and the cowl neckline and cut managed to produce curves that were normally hidden. The shimmering silver material gave her skin a luminescent quality and I knew that this was the dress for her before she even began to accessorize it.

We flicked through Roses dresses once we had managed to get Alice dressed and seated and I found a deep crimson gown that I knew was the one for Rose, it had a corset style top that tied at the back and the front had tiny hook and eye fastenings and the skirt was long and ruffled at the back and came around shorter at the front showing off her amazingly long legs.

"That's the one Rose; I don't think you need to try anymore on. What do you think Alice?"

Alice omitted a soft snore in response and began to mumble nonsense that made me double over with laughter. Even though I had not been looking forward to this shopping excursion it had proved to be more than entertaining and I hoped that the ball itself would be just as interesting.

**_**I would really appreciate your reviews I have just started writing again after a break of almost 2 year. Well that's the first chapter. I really hope that you have enjoyed it as much as I have enjoyed writing it; it has been floating around my head for ages and got to the point where it argued with me to come out lol. The next chapter will be in Edwards POV and will be graphic so be warned ;)**_**

**_**Lots of love sar xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_**


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